Intensification Area Urban Design Guidelines - City of Barrie

Barrie Urban Design Guidelines
Supporting Document Summary
Downtown Barrie: The Next Wave Community
Improvement Plan (December, 2005)
As one of the earlier documents to address the Downtown area,
Downtown Barrie: The Next Wave Community Improvement
Plan recognizes the importance of intensification within
the Urban Growth Centre. The study focuses on the portion
of the Urban Growth Centre north of Vespra Street, with the
exception of the properties west of Sophia Street.
Broadly, the study focuses on the preservation, revitalization,
and promotion of the historic downtown, as well as the
strengthening of connections to the waterfront. While
traditional development in Barrie is characterized by singlefamily
dwellings on greenfield sites, the study recognizes that
as these areas become limited, denser, more compact forms
of housing should be directed to the downtown. Specifically,
the study promotes mixed-use development, including
affordable housing, in order to create a diverse, active and
healthy Downtown. Structured parking is encouraged in
the Downtown, and should be incorporated into mixed-use
buildings with office or commercial uses at grade.
Directly adjacent to the waterfront, the study recommends a
height restriction of 5-storeys to maintain key views.
A number of recommendations provided to enhance
circulation throughout the Downtown, including widening
sidewalks, relocating Lakeshore Drive to the former rail
corridor, and closing Simcoe Street and Fred Grant Street
around Memorial Square. Other recommendations, such as
connecting Lakeshore Drive to Toronto Street, and connecting
Simcoe Street to Bradford Street, have since been realized.
City of Barrie Downtown Commercial Master Plan
(January, 2006)
The City of Barrie Downtown Commercial Master Plan
encourages intensification through compatible infill
development, and taller icon buildings on the waterfront. The
Plan focuses on a small portion of the Urban Growth Centre,
including the historic Downtown and the waterfront, bordered
by Bradford Street/Maple Street in the west, Ross Street/
Collier Street in the north, Poyntz Street in the east, and
Kempenfelt Bay in the south.
The recommendations of the Plan focus on transforming
Downtown Barrie and its waterfront to a highly desirable
place to live, work, enjoy and visit. This includes mixed-use
development, and the preservation of the land fronting on
Kempenfelt Bay as a public “front porch experience.”
The Plan encourages built form and massing in the Downtown
that is compatible with the existing built fabric, and preserves
and enhances the existing heritage buildings. A 3-storey
general height is encouraged, with taller, 8 to 10-storey icon
buildings on the waterfront. Icon buildings should be designed
to reflect this key role, and should be appropriately massed
to limit shadows on adjacent properties, and to preserve key
views to the waterfront.
DRAFT
The Plan establishes a series of distinctive character areas
in the Downtown (i.e. Artistic Neighbourhood, Promenade
Neighbourhood, Arrival Neighbourhood, Main Shopping
Neighbourhood, Entertainment Neighbourhood, Professional
Neighbourhood, etc.) in order to give clear design direction
to for public and private developments, and to reinforce the
Vision and commercial viability.
The Plan recommends pedestrian-oriented streets within
the Downtown, assigning specific roles for individual streets,
including Bayfield Street as the gateway to the Downtown and
Simcoe Street as a scenic waterfront drive. The majority of
parking in the Plan is accommodated on-street and in parking
structures.
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